Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis: Woman Explained, Includes Sources Cited Page. Jacqueline Kennedy as an influential woman.

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis: Woman Explained

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis was more than how she appeared in the public eye. Although many only knew of her as the pretty woman with a prominent last name, she inspired many to follow her actions with her grace, intelligence, and unique style. Jacqueline, also known as Jackie, was an individual that most people strived to be like. Marrying John F. Kennedy put her into the spotlight when he became president of the United States. They had two children and Jackie tried to keep their lives as private as possible. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis had many roles in her life which she was completely devoted to such as individual, wife, mother, and First Lady.

Onassis was an astounding woman with distinctive qualities. Author Pearl Buck commented in her biography that Jackie's sense of fashion and concern with appearance came from her father. He influenced her to wear clothes different from other girls to have her own identity (70).

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Former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in 19...

Expensive clothing was also part of Onassis' style. Wayne Koestenbaum suggests in his book that her clothes can be "interpreted as an allegory of her soul" (qtd. in 158). When she became First Lady, Mrs. Kennedy wanted to be recognized by her elite fashion sense, so she had a "designer-courtier" who made all her clothes while she was First Lady. According to Laurence Leamer's biography, "[...] clothes were merely symbols of the style and excellence that she intended to bring into the White House" (513). She was a first class kind of girl, and she stood out from others in society because of that.

Onassis' individualism also showed through her personality. By daring to question how society viewed her, Jackie raised the criteria of lives in America. Jackie was one to start the "first-name basis" with people (Buck...